Fruit or vegetable crate.



No. 686,329. 7 Patented "Nov. l2, |90| R. K. POLLOCK.

FRUIT 0R VEGETABLE CRATE.

(Application filed Aug. 31, 1901.) (M0 Model.)

Fgz 'rga ml) 1 i WITNESSES:

in: Nunms PETERS co. wowurH-u, WASHINGTON. n c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT K. POLLOCK, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

FRUIT OR VEGETABLE CRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,329, dated November12, 1901.

Application filed August 31,1901. Serial No. 74,049- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT KELLY PoL- LOCK, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State ofTennessee, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fruit orVegetable Crates or Boxes for General Uses, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in a fruit and vegetable crate orbox for general uses; and the object of my improvement is to lessen thelabor, and consequently the cost, of constructing a fruit and vegetablecrate or box for general uses.

The chief feature of my invention is the manner of the construction ofthe component parts of the crate or box, which permits of the crate orbox being quickly erected without the driving of a single nail; but inorder to make it absolutely secure eight nails or staples may be driveninto it after the component parts are connected with each other.

In order to understand the present manner of manufacturing fruit-crates,it may be of value to state that they are not erected at the factory.They are sold in disconnected parts to the grower or shipper, and inorder to erect them or get them in readiness for use they must be puttogether with from forty to fifty nails, which requires a great deal oflabor and expense. The present fruit-crate in universal use is sold tothe user in eight piecesnamely, two sides, one top and three bottompieces, and two end pieces. Now in order to erect a crate with thesepieces the user is compelled to nail the top,-three bottom pieces,

and the two sides onto the two end pieces.

5 shows a view of two batten-strips, one provided with a tenon and theother witha mortise adapted to interlock therewith and to be fastened bynails or the like.

Fig. 6 shows a view of two batten-strips, one having a dovetail tenonand the other a dovetail mortise adapted to interlock therewith. Fig. 4is an end View of the crate now in universal use.

Similarletters refertosimilar parts throughout the several views.

The side view, Fig. 1, shows two battenstrips 0, connected bycross-strips B, secured at their ends to the batten-strips. In theillustration, A is the top, having the battenstrips D, connected bycross-strips B, secured at their ends to the batten-strips. B is thebottom of my crate, having two batten-strips E, connected bycross-strips B, secured at their ends to the batten-strips, and thedotted lines show how the top and bottom having tenons upon thebatten-strips interlock with the sides having mortises upon thebattenstrips. These four walls form the main body of my crate, and theyare placed together by knocking the tenon into the mortise, or viceversa. The crate thus erected is quite substantial; but to fasten itmore securely four nails may be driven in at the point of interlock ofthe batten-strips through the tenons and mortises, as shown in Figs. 5and 6, the nails being designated by the letter N.

The ends of my crateconsist each of an integral plate or sheet(designated by the letter F in Fig. adapted to be positioned against theinner face of the interlocked battenstrips and to be held in placemerely by the contents of the crate. There is no nailing whatever of theends of my crate.

Now as to the present fruit-crate in universal use, an end view of whichis shown in Fig. 4, it will be observed that there are twenty-four nailsin this end, or in the two ends of the crate there would be forty-eightnails. The two ends of the old crate disconnected from the sides, bottompieces, and top are furnished to the consumer fastened together, (therebeing almost as many nails in them as in the balance of the crate,) andthen to erect a crate it is necessary to expend much labor in drivingforty eight nails through the two sides, the top, and the three bottompieces; so where I save labor and expense by my invention is inproviding four walls of the crate with batten-strips fastened theretoand only calling for, though not absolutely requiring, the driving offour nails ICO in each end or eight nails altogether to secure the crateafterthe walls have been placed together without the use of nails.

Now as to Fig. 6 as contrasted with Fig.

5, showing an ordinary tenon-and-mortise joint, that view shows how thebattenstrips connected to the four walls may be interlocked by adovetail mortise and tenon in the batten-strips. The batten-strip O hasa dovetail tenon, and it will be secured to one wall of the crate.dovetail mortise,which is made in such a manner that it will beimpossible to pull the other batten-strip out of the mortised striplengthwise, though it can be easily removed upward to permit the openingof the crate. The batten-strip R is connected to the bottom wall of thecrate, and it has adovetail tenon which interlocks with the mortise ofthe batten-strip P, the dovetail mortise in the latter piece being cutin such a manner that the other batten-strip R cannot be pushed out ofthe bottom of the mortise, though it can be pushed The batten-strip Phas a out lengthwise. The interlocking of the batten-strips that wayimparts strength to the bottom wall on which the weight of the contentsof the crate rest.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

In a knockdown crate, four walls constructed each of two batten-stripsconnected by cross-strips secured at their ends to the batten-strips,the batten-strips of two walls being provided with a tenon and thebattenstrips of the other two walls being provided with a mortiseadapted to interlock therewith, and two remaining walls consisting eachof an integral plate or sheet adapted to be positioned against the innerface of the interlocked batten strips and to be held in place by thecontents of the crate.

ROBERT K. POLLOCK.

Witnesses:

FRANK G. MARTIN, R. E. PRITOHARD.

